Destiny Previews Changes to How Silver Dust Works

By Weston Albert 23 October 2016

The economy of Silver Dust, the new material added in the Rise of Iron expansion, will be getting some changes very soon based on feedback from the game’s fans.

Silver Dust is a new form of currency in Destiny: Rise of Iron whose primary function is to “set” new ornaments on weapons and armor. But since the launch of Rise of Iron, Destiny fans have complained that the Silver Dust economy is harsh, and that the material is hard-to-come-by.

To that end, Destiny‘s developer Bungie has previewed some changes to Silver Dust that will hit alongside this year’s Festival of the Lost live event. Bungie community manager Cozmo posted the sneak peek, saying that this will be one of many changes to help the Silver Dust economy feel more rewarding for players and improve their experience:

We want to ensure that players who are completing Rise of Iron’s pinnacle challenges feel rewarded for their success. With this patch Trials, Wrath of the Machine, and Iron Lord Armor Ornaments will no longer require Silver Dust to apply. The Silver Dust requirement for applying Exotic Weapon Ornaments will remain, as the Silver Dust required for application is provided by the Radiant Treasure box.

Currently, to apply an ornament to any armor piece (such as armor gained in Trials of Osiris, Wrath of the Machine, or the Days of Iron set from the Record Book) players need an ornament AND Silver Dust. The problem is that Silver Dust is only earned in Radiant Treasure boxes, which are available once perk week. That is, unless players want to shell out real world cash to buy as many as they want.

That requirement will be taken off of armor, which should help players hold onto a little more of the rare material. Because exotic weapon ornaments come in Radiant Treasure boxes along with Silver Dust, weapons will still require consumption of Silver Dust to apply the ornament.

Another controversial issue concerned Dusty Iron Engrams that can be purchased from Lord Saladin in exchange for Silver Dust. The argument went that players could spend actual money to buy Radiant Treasure boxes from Eververse, then buy Dusty Iron Engrams, then dismantle that armor to gain Legendary Marks. It’s not a great return on investment, but the debate remained that players could technically pay money for Legendary Marks.

However, according to Cozmo, the old Iron Banner armor dismantling in Legendary Marks was not intended and will be changed in the upcoming patch:

Year 1 and Year 2 Iron Banner armor found in Dusty Iron Engrams and on activity completion of Iron Banner matches was incorrectly dismantling into Legendary Marks. With the patch, these items, when dismantled, will now yield 1 Silver Dust.

According to Bungie, this is just the first step in what should be a bigger overhaul of Silver Dust and Eververse, which will be fully revealed in the winter update that will bring Sparrow Racing League back to the game later this year.